Pokemon: New Beginnings
by Frontline
Summary: Ash and Gary are on a journey to the Pokemon League with a dream of becoming a Pokemon Master.
1. Chapter 1

' _You've got Mail.'_

Ash sat up, rubbing blearily at his eyes as the sunlight came through his bedroom window, rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling.

 _'You've got Mail.'_

 _Come on. It's too early for this..._

With a groan, he rolled out of bed and staggering towards his computer, slumping into the chair and opening up his e-mail browser.

 **Good morning, Ash. I've just received your Trainer License from the Pokemon League. Stop by my Lab when you get this message. Professor Oak.**

Ash sat staring at the message for a second before springing to his feet to get dressed...

 **Umbreon**

 **Moonlight Pokemon**

 **Dark-Type**

 **3'0"**

 **27.0 KG**

 **On the night of the full moon, or when excited, the rings on it's body glow yellow. Evolves from Eevee**.

Gary's phone rang and he picked it up without even take his eyes off the computer screen, flipping it open and pressing it to his ear.

'Yeah?'

'Good morning, Gary. You're up early.'

'Morning, Grandpa. Yeah, I was looking over that data you sent me. What's up?'

'I've just received your Trainer License from the Pokemon League and...'

'I'll be right there.' Gary said, standing up and heading for the door, leaving the computer monitor running...

'Morning, Mum.' Ash called as he thundered down the stairs, grabbing a slice of toast from the table as he headed towards the door.

'Morning.' She said, looking up from her newspaper. 'Don't you want some breakfast...?'

'Sorry, Mum.' Ash said, taking a bite of the slice of toast'Professor Oak's got my Trainer License. I've gotta run.'

'Ash...' She began, but he was already out of the door.

Ash raced up the road to Professor Oak's Lab, pressing the buzzer outside the front door.

'Hello?'

'Morning, Professor. I'm here.'

'Ah, Ash. Good morning. Come in.' The door clicked open and Ash stepped inside, heading for the Professor's Lab.

'Well, well. About time you got here.' A voice said and Ash swung around, his fists clenched at his sides. 'Gary.'

'I can't believe you even bothered to apply for your License.' Gary said, pushing him off the wall and strolling towards him with his hands in his pockets. 'You really think you've got what it takes to be a Pokemon Trainer?'

'Hey...' Ash began, just as the door at the end of the Lab opened and Professor Oak entered, carrying a tray with three Pokeballs on it.

'Excellent. 'You're here.' He said, placing the tray down on his bench and pulling two cards from his pocket. 'These are your Trainer 're required to carry these with you at all times.' Oak said, handing them out and picking up the tray. 'These Licenses allow you to catch and train Pokemon. Now, as you can see, there are three Pokemon here. Charmander, the Fire Pokemon. Squirtle, the Water Pokemon. And Bulbasaur, the Plant Pokemon. Now, you may each choose the one that you like.'

'Well, I don't want to be greedy.' Gary said, with a wink. 'Ash, you can choose first.'

'Now, think carefully before you choose...' Professor Oak began.

'No need. I already decided.' Ash said. 'Red's always been my favourite colour, so I choose Charmander.' 'Yeah. A Fire-type's perfect for a hothead like you.' Gary said, with a smirk. 'I'll choose Squirtle.'

'Oh yeah? I'll show you who's a hothead!' Ash said, but Gary shook his head.

'You already have. Besides, I don't want my first battle to be against a beginner like you.'

'You're a beginner, too.'

'Maybe. But I've got more ambition than you. One day, I'm going to be the best Pokemon Trainer in the world.' 'Hey...'

'You are both at the beginning of an incredible journey.' Professor Oak said, stepping between them. 'And I have something else for you is the Pokedex, an electronic encyclopaedia that automatically records data on any Pokemon that you capture. For years, it has been my dream to make a detailed record of all the Pokemon in the world. However, I'm getting too old to travel around as I used to. But, with your help, my dream can still come true. Can I count on you?'

'Yeah.'

'You bet, Gramps.' 'Thank you. I know that you'll make me proud.'

'Don't worry, Grandpa.' Gary said, pocketing his Pokedex and heading towards the door. 'You can leave it to me.'

'Thanks for everything, Professor.' Ash said, accepting his own Pokedex. 'I won't let you down.'

'I know you won't.' Oak said. 'Before you go, I have something else for you.' He opened his desk drawer and took out a small box. Inside was a silver medallion in the shape of Pokeball.

'Your Father always wore this whenever he was on his training journeys. And, he wanted you to have it.' Wordlessly, Ash picked it up and Oak clapped him on the shoulder.

'Now, off you go, my boy. And good luck.'


	2. Chapter 2

'Cinder, use Scratch.' Ash ordered and Cinder leapt forward, his claws raking across the Pidgey's flank. It's struggled to rise, it's wings beating weakly as Ash selected a Pokeball from his belt and let it fly. When it struck the weakened Pidgey, it cracked open, Pidgey vanishing in a flash of red energy. The Pokeball snapped shut and dropped to the ground, rocked a few times and was still.

'Alright!' Ash said, picking up the Pokeball and stowing it back on his belt. 'Good job, buddy.' Pulling out his Pokedex, he quickly consulted Pidgey's data, before scrolling back to the list of Pokemon. CHARMANDER LV 8

PIDGEY LV 4

RATTATA LV 3

'Not a bad day's work, buddy.' He said, pulling out Cinder's Pokeball. 'Come on. If we hurry, we can get to Viridian City and challenge the Gym Leader before Gary gets there...'

'Now, finish it off.' Gary said. 'Bubble attack.' Squirtle opened his mouth and unleashed a stream of bubbles that knocked the Pidgey from the air, where it collapsed.

'Nice work, Jet.' Gary said, reaching down to pat him on the head. 'That's 10 straight victories.' He stood up, pulling out his Pokedex and consulting it.

SQUIRTLE LV 9

 _That's enough for today_. He thought. _Let's get to Viridian City. There's bound to be some Pokemon worth catching around there_.

Putting the Pokedex back into pocket, he turned to Squirtle and taking out his Pokeball. 'Come on, Jet. Let's go and get our first Gym Badge...'

'Hello?' Ash called, knocking again on the door of the Gym. 'Is anyone there?'

'You can forget it.' A voice said and Ash swung round to see Gary leaning against a tree, watching him with his arms folded. 'The Gym's closed.'

'What do you mean?' Ash asked and Gary stood up.

'Don't you get it? The Viridian Gym's closed. From what I heard, the Gym Leader disappeared several months ago. But, I knew that you'd come here, so I waited for you.'

'Why?'

'To battle you, of course. It'll be an easy win for me.'

'Oh, yeah. We'll see about that.' Ash said, his jaw tightening. 'Let's go, Cinder.'

'Huh.' Gary tutted, releasing his own Pokeball. 'Let's wrap this up, Jet.'

'Cinder, use Ember.' Ash yelled, Charmander unleashing a fireball towards Squirtle. However, Squirtle turned his back and the fireball was turned aside by his shell.

'Fire moves don't work on Water Pokemon.' Gary said, folding his arms across his chest. 'I thought even you would know that.'

'Cinder, use Scratch.' Ash yelled, Charmander rushing forward with his claws extended and Gary shook his head.

'Predictable. Jet, use Bubble.' Squirtle opened his mouth, the jet of bubbles striking Charmander and knocking him backwards to land in a heap. 'No...'

'Now, use Tackle.' Squirtle lowered his head and charged, slamming into Charmander as he tried to rise and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

'No! Cinder!' Ash raced forward, dropping to the ground and cradling Charmander's head in his hands. 'Hold on. I'll get you some help...'


	3. Chapter 3

'Here you are.' Nurse Joy said, handing back Ash's Pokeball. 'Your Pokemon has been restored to full health.'

Ash hesitated for a second, before taking it and pressing the button on the front. The 'Ball split open and Cinder emerged, Ash kneeling down beside him.

'I'm sorry, Buddy.' He said, putting a hand on his head. 'I never meant for you to get hurt.'

'Chaa.' Cinder said and Ash grinned.

'Thanks, Buddy.' He said, standing up. 'You ready to go?'

'Cha!'

'Finish it off, Jet.' Gary yelled. 'Use Bubble.'

Jet opened his mouth and the stream of bubbles struck the Caterpie, sending it flying backwards to land in a heap.

'No! Catie!' The Bug Catcher said, dropping to his knees next to his unconscious Pokemon and Gary turned to Jet.

'Come on, Jet.' Gary said, tucking his hands into his pockets. 'Maybe we'll find someone stronger around Pewter City...'

'Scratch, Cinder.' Ash yelled and Cinder sprang forward to strike the Caterpie, Ash selecting a Pokeball from his belt and letting it fly. Caterpie vanished in a flash of light and Ash picked up the Pokeball, stowing it back onto his belt.

'Good job, Cinder.' He said. 'Come on. Let's get to Pewter City and...'

Ash stopped when he heard a rustling in grass and a Pokemon emerged, freezing when it saw them, it's zig-zag tail raised in the air. Hurriedly, Ash pulled out his Pokedex and pressed the Identify button, data appearing on the screen.

PIKACHU

MOUSE POKEMON

ELECTRIC

IT KEEPS IT'S TAIL RAISED TO MONITOR IT'S SURROUNDINGS.

'Alright!' Ash said. 'Go, Cinder. Use Ember.'

'Chaa!' Cinder swung his hail, launching a fireball towards Pikachu, but it dodged aside. Lightning sparked from it's cheeks and a jolt struck Cinder, making him flinch.

'Cinder, hang in there.' Ash yelled. 'Ember.'

The fireball made Pikachu dodge aside again and Ash seized his chance.

'Now, Cinder. Use Scratch.' Cinder sprang forward, his claws extended and Pikachu was knocked backwards to land in a heap. It struggled to rise, but Ash grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it with a flick of his wrist. Pikachu vanished in a flash of red light, the ball dropping to the ground where it rocked twice and then lay still.

'Way to go, buddy.' Ash said, picking up the Pokeball and stowing it on his belt. 'Looks like our lucky day. Pewter City, here we come.'


	4. Chapter 4

'Jet, use Tail Whip.' Gary ordered and Jet ducked under the Sandshrew's Scratch attack, sweeping it's legs away and knocking it to the floor. Sandshrew managed to struggle to it's feet, only to be driven back by a stream of bubbles from Jet that knocked it down again. Gary choose a Pokeball from his belt and let it fly. With a grin, he picked up the Pokeball and flipped open his Pokedex, seeing a new name appear at the bottom of the list.

SQUIRTLE LV 10

SANDSHREW LV 4

Gary selected Sandshrew's entry, quickly reading over the data, his finger hovering of the NICKNAME key.

 _Let's see...Yeah..._

His fingers quickly flew over the keys and hit the 'Enter' command, the display on the screen updating.

SANDSHREW'S NAME WAS CHANGED TO SANDCLAW.

 _I knew it was a good idea to visit this cave and skip past Pewter City. He thought to himself. It just goes to show how good I am..._

Gary emerged from the Rock Tunnel into the sunshine on Route 11 and looked around, with a grin on his face.

 _Not a bad morning's work._ He thought, tossing Sandshrew's Pokeball in the air and catching it. _Now, let's get to Lavender Town._

He looked around, spotting a young woman sitting on a rock with a tablet balanced on her knees, typing industriously. She was dressed in the red and black uniform of a Pokemon Ranger, with shoulder length red hair. She looked up from her PokePad, staring at him for second, before returning her attention to her work. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Gary started down the Route, grinning to himself. Then, he stopped when he saw a Bug Catcher battling a man dressed in a black uniform with an 'R' emblazoned on the front.

'Finish it off.' He ordered, his Koffing charging forward to slam into the Bug Catcher's Caterpie and knocking it backwards.

'No. Caterpie!' The Bug Catcher cried as the man pulled a black PokeBall from his belt and threw it at unconscious Pokemon, which snapped shut, sealing Caterpie inside.

'Give him back.' The boy wailed, launching himself towards the man as he bent down to retrieve the PokeBall. 'Give hi...'

His sentence was cut off as the man punched him in the stomach dropping his to his knees.

'Forget it, kid. Your Pokemon belongs to Team Rocket, now.' The man said, turning away and Gary raced after him.

'Hey!' He yelled and the man turned back, staring coldly at Gary.

'Yeah? What do you want?'

'I want you to give him his Pokemon back.' Gary said and _the_ man laughed.

'Ha! You've got guts, kid. Alright, you want to fight, you've got it. But, if you lose, your Pokemon'll belong to Team Rocket, too.'

'I'm not going to lose.' Gary said. 'Let's go, Jet.'

'Tch. Cocky, kid. Alright, Zubat, let's teach him a lesson.'

He released his Pokeball, Zubat swooping towards Jet, who barely managed to dodge out of the way.

'Zubat, use Supersonic!' He yelled and Zubat swept around, Jet staggering backwards under his assault and the Rocket grinned.

'Now, Zubat. Use Leech Life.'

Zubat dived down, it's fangs sinking into Squirtle's neck and he stumbled, falling to his knees.

'Hang in there, Jet.' Gary said. 'Use Withdraw.'

Jet struggled to rise, ducking back inside his shell, Zubat striking into his plaistron. Stunned by the blow, he wobbled back into the air and Gary seized his chance.

'Now, Jet. Use Bubble.'

Jet emerged from inside his shell, the stream of bubbles knocking Zubat from the air to crash to the ground, where he lay still.

'You little...' the Rocket said, returning Zubat to his Pokeball and turning to make a run for it. However, Gary grabbed him and punched him hard, sending him staggering backwards to land in the dirt.

'Hand it over.' Gary said, standing over him. 'Now.'

Slowly, the Rocket reaching towards his belt and removed the black PokeBall, tossing it towards Gary.

'Thanks.' He said, and the Rocket snarled.

'This isn't over, kid.' He said. 'And you're gonna regret making an enemy of Team Rocket.'

He flicked something towards Gary's feet and there was a small explosion, the air filling with black smoke. When it cleared, there was no sign of the Rocket. With a sigh, Gary turned to the Bug Catcher, throwing the PokeBall towards him.

'Th...thank you.' He said and Gary grinned.

'No big deal.' He said, turning away, only to find the Pokemon Ranger standing in front of him with her arms folded.

'We need to talk...'

'Alright, Caterpie. Use Tackle.' Ash ordered, Caterpie slamming it's head into the Rattata, which slumped to the ground.

'Alright, Caterpie. Let's...What?' He said, as Caterpie raised it's head and started wrapping itself up using StringShot. Hurriedly, he pulled out his Pokedex and aimed it at Caterpie, pressing the IDENTIFY button, reading the text that scrolled across the screen.

CATERPIE HAS SEVERAL STAGES TO IT'S LIFE CYCLE. WHEN IT MOVES INTO THE SECOND STAGE, IT CREATES A HARD COCOON AROUND IT'S BODY TO PROTECT IT DURING THE METAMORPHOSIS.

Ash looked up from the screen to see the cocoon had taken shape, a sharp green form with two eyes the only recognisable festive and he looked down as his Pokedex beeped again.

CONGRATULATIONS. YOUR CATERPIE EVOLVED INTO METAPOD.

 _Metapod, huh..._

Ash hesitated outside the Pewter City Gym, looking down at Cinder.

'You ready for this, buddy?' He asked and Cinder looked up at him.

'Chaa!'

'...alright. Let's go.' Ash said, pushing open the doors and stepping inside. Beyond was a cavernous room filled with boulders and he looked around. However, he couldn't see anyone around.

'...Hello?' He called out, spinning round when he heard a voice behind him, seeing a man standing behind him. He had brown spiky hair and looked to be only a couple of years older than Ash.

'You've come for a Boulder Badge?' He asked, with his arms folded across his chest.

'...yes.' Ash replied and his eyes narrowed.

'Very well. My name is Brock and I'm the Gym Leader for Pewter City. This will be a knockout battle. You can use as many Pokemon as you like.'

'Alright.' Ash said. 'Go, Cinder.'

Charmander sprang forward, but Brock just stood there with his arms folded and Ash frowned.

'Where's your Pokemon?' Ash asked and Brock grinned.

'Right here. Onix!' He called and the rocks behind him reared up, Ash's eyes widening. What he had taken to be a pile of boulders was a large rock snake, with a blunt horn on it's head.

'Alright, Cinder. Let's go. Use Ember.'

Charmander sprang forward, flicking his tail to send a fireball soaring towards Onix, only to bounce off his rocky hide.

'Tch!' Brock said. 'Onix, use Bind.'

Onix's tail swept out to wrap around Cinder and lifting him off the ground, tightening like a vice.

'Chaa...' Cinder said, struggling to break free, but Onix was too strong and he went limp.

'Cinder!' Ash cried, as Onix dropped him to the floor, racing over to him and cradling his head in his arms.

'Hang on, buddy.' He said, returning him to his PokeBall and standing up.

'If that's the best you've got, then you should give up now.' Brock said and Ash selected another PokeBall.

'We're just getting started.' He said. 'Let's go, Pidgey.'

Brock shook his head, gesturing to Onix, his tail sweeping out to knock Pidgey from the sky in one blow. Ash returned him as well, his hand hovering over his belt.

This is bad. If Cinder couldn't hurt him, then Pikachu won't do much better. Well, I'm not giving up. If I'm going to lose, I'll go down fighting...

'Let's go, Metapod!' He yelled, releasing the PokeBall and Brock shook his head.

'You really don't give up, do you?' He said. 'Onix, use Bind.'

'Metapod, use Harden.' Ash yelled, as Onix's tail snaked around him, starting to squeeze him like it did Charmander.

'Keep going, Metapod.' Ash yelled, as cracks started to appear in his shell. 'Don't give up.'

Then, Metapod's shell cracked and something fell towards the ground. A second before it struck, the shape unfolded a pair of iridescent wings and soared away, Ash pulling out his Pokedex.

CONGRATULATIONS. YOUR METAPOD EVOLVED INTO BUTTERFREE. BUTTERFREE LEARNED SLEEP POWDER.

'Butterfree. Use Sleep Powder.' Ash ordered and Butterfree swept round, glittering blue particles falling from his wings. Onix's growled, struggling to raise his tail, but it was too late and his head dropped to the ground.

'Way to go, Butterfree!' Ash yelled, as Brock returned Onix to his PokeBall and walked towards Ash.

'Congratulations.' He said, walking towards him and reaching into his pocket. 'This Boulder Badge is proof that you've beaten me.' Without another word, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the back of the Gym. Ash stared after him, before shrugging and heading to the Pokemon Centre...

'Sorry. I don't do autographs.' Gary said and she frowned.

'My name is Sasha and I'm a Pokemon Ranger. And you need to come with me to Lavender Town.'

'Why should I do that?'

'Because I need to report what happened to the Pokemon League. And you're a key witness.'

'Sorry. I've got better things to do.' Gary said, brushing past her and she grabbed his arm.

'Did you hear what that guy said?' She asked. 'He said he was a member of Team Rocket. You do know how serious this is?'

'...alright.' Gary said. 'I was going to head to Lavender Town, anyway, so I guess you can tag along.'

'Tag along? Listen here...' She snapped, but Gary was already strolling down the Route with his hands in his pockets.

 _Oooooohh...!_

'Ash!'

Hearing his name, Ash turned to see Brock walking down the street towards him, wearing a heavy-looking backpack and a belt with two PokeBalls on it.

'Yeah?'

'You're heading for the Cerulean City, right. Mind if I come along?'

'Uh...'


End file.
